Are all web developers like this?

17 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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I'm having a problem with my web developer. Basically I give him a PSD file to convert to a wordpress site and this is what I get (see how many differences you can find )

#developers #web
  • Profile picture of the author alan9187
    I take it this is part of a contact/information or sign up form from the site ?

    If you have the site use css to modify it to look more like the psd file.. if you do not know how or think this should have been done by the developer then go back to them..

    Have you contacted them about this ?...

    Did you have consulation from them through the design proccess with a review to show you the finished product before you accepted it?

    At the end of the day if you have had continuios contact with the developer then they should put things right for you if you contact them..I'm sure they would be happy to help..

    one things for sure... if your not happy and no sign of help from the developer then you will know not to use them again..

    I would only use recommended/proffesional and trusted people for wordpress development..

    Not saying you have not just my opininon if you haven't.

    In regards to are all developers like this.. this again go's back to reputable,quality developers/designers for wordpress.. and exactly what was your brief to them..
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    • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
      Originally Posted by alan9187 View Post

      I take it this is part of a contact/information or sign up form from the site ?

      If you have the site use css to modify it to look more like the psd file.. if you do not know how or think this should have been done by the developer then go back to them..

      Have you contacted them about this ?...

      Did you have consulation from them through the design proccess with a review to show you the finished product before you accepted it?

      At the end of the day if you have had continuios contact with the developer then they should put things right for you if you contact them..I'm sure they would be happy to help..

      one things for sure... if your not happy and no sign of help from the developer then you will know not to use them again..

      I would only use recommended/proffesional and trusted people for wordpress development..

      Not saying you have not just my opininon if you haven't.

      In regards to are all developers like this.. this again go's back to reputable,quality developers/designers for wordpress.. and exactly what was your brief to them..
      I have constant contact with them through skype and I thought that the assignment is relatively simple. Make the site look like the PSD file. I'm just wondering if it is common for the site to be that much off. So should I work with them or find someone who pays attention to detail and can get it right the first time? It's a huge waste of my time to babysit... But I have worked with them quite a bit and trust them so don't want to hire another programmer if most are like this.
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  • Profile picture of the author alan9187
    I would defenatly work with them first before trying anyone else if you have used them in the past and have been happy with them..

    I agree you shouldn't have to babysit, but ask them in future to provide you with i final review of the site so they can make changes for you..

    I'm pritty sure they and you can work it out to make the site look more like the psd.. just by looking at the pics it seems it might be just a case of editing the css to gain the overall look.. like possitoning the submit button, color, font type & size, bold etc etc.

    it dosn't seem hard to do for you from the developer side and again keep at them till your satisfied.. i'm sure they wouldn't want to loose your custom if your a regular return customer to them..

    One thing i would possibly think about for next time is send whoever developer you are using a copy of your design and ask before paying
    " is it possible for you to re-create this design in wordpress as it is"

    you will then be able to work with them to resolve any issues before the delevopment stage..

    Yes this can take time.. but how much time and effort will you be saving long term going backwards and forwards to a developer with your unhappy design.. and babysiting..

    Of course you still carn't gaurentee evething will be as you asked but you have more of an idea if the psd will be what you looking for at the end product and if you want to use that developer or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author seopress
    Letsurf,
    Yes, a LOT of developers DO turn out crappy work like that. You are right it's a waste of your time to have to babysit, and you have every right to demand that the psd to html conversion be pixel perfect. You need to find someone who can do the job right.

    I strongly recommend htmlburger (link below), who does great work.

    We Convert your Design into Pixel Perfect XHTML/CSS | htmlBurger

    I've used them for several years and have spent thousands with them. And you don't pay them until the work is done and you are satisfied. Great people.
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    • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
      Originally Posted by seopress View Post

      Letsurf,
      Yes, a LOT of developers DO turn out crappy work like that. You are right it's a waste of your time to have to babysit, and you have every right to demand that the psd to html conversion be pixel perfect. You need to find someone who can do the job right.

      I strongly recommend htmlburger (link below), who does great work.

      We Convert your Design into Pixel Perfect XHTML/CSS | htmlBurger

      I've used them for several years and have spent thousands with them. And you don't pay them until the work is done and you are satisfied. Great people.
      Thanks for the link and I will definitely check them out =) So If I wanted a home page psd and internal page psd turned into a regular wordpress site which burger option would that be? Trying to find the cost for it.
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      • Profile picture of the author seopress
        Originally Posted by Letsurf View Post

        Thanks for the link and I will definitely check them out =) So If I wanted a home page psd and internal page psd turned into a regular wordpress site which burger option would that be? Trying to find the cost for it.
        The 5-day turnaround cost would be $274 ($98 for first page, $48 second page, $128 for making it into your own WP theme).

        Regards,
        Dave Seldon
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        • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
          Originally Posted by seopress View Post

          The 5-day turnaround cost would be $274 ($98 for first page, $48 second page, $128 for making it into your own WP theme).

          Regards,
          Dave Seldon
          Perfect thanks =)
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        • Profile picture of the author ronc0011
          I'm just curious. I notice most if not all of your differences are with fonts. And what I'm wondering is if the problem may not be with the difference between the way a browse displays a font and the way Photoshop is displaying it. I only ask this because after many years of working with fonts for different and varied customers I have learned that there is a difference between the ways computers treat fonts. dependent on a whole slew of variables. Obviously there shouldn't be any problem between black and white. However font weight may not be identical.
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  • Profile picture of the author SergioFelix
    From past experience being in both sides of the equation (both as a developer and as an outsourcer) it is very easy to get lost with communication noise.

    Even worse when you are working for the first time together although apparently, this is not the case.

    Anyway, there is a difference between saying you want something "to look like" to say you want something "to look exactly like".

    I know this looks like it's the same thing but it's not.

    A rule of thumb when outsourcing is you have to be as specific as you can and yes, the little details count as well.

    Don't know if people act like robots now but that's how it is lol

    Anyway, good luck getting your design right man and don't worry, if you're not satisfied just get back to them and say something like "Oh, I meant I want this to look EXACTLY like in the psd".

    And you're set to go! ;-)
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    • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
      Originally Posted by SergioFelix View Post

      From past experience being in both sides of the equation (both as a developer and as an outsourcer) it is very easy to get lost with communication noise.

      Anyway, good luck getting your design right man and don't worry, if you're not satisfied just get back to them and say something like "Oh, I meant I want this to look EXACTLY like in the psd".

      And you're set to go! ;-)
      Thanks for the advice. I agree it's easy to get lost in communication and you need to be as detailed as possible. But... isn't that the whole purpose of a psd conversion to eliminate all room for error or miscommunication? I think in many cases it just boils down to lack of attention to detail and no common since. Think I'll be finding me a new programmer :rolleyes:
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      • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
        Originally Posted by Letsurf View Post

        Thanks for the advice. I agree it's easy to get lost in communication and you need to be as detailed as possible. But... isn't that the whole purpose of a psd conversion to eliminate all room for error or miscommunication? I think in many cases it just boils down to lack of attention to detail and no common since. Think I'll be finding me a new programmer :rolleyes:
        Not necessarily - I've had situations where I've spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get something 'just right' only to have the author of the psd say, "no bother, that's close enough".

        I think I'd get some more information from them (maybe you have, and just didn't relate it here) before dropping them like a hot potato.
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        • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
          Originally Posted by SteveJohnson View Post

          Not necessarily - I've had situations where I've spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get something 'just right' only to have the author of the psd say, "no bother, that's close enough".

          I think I'd get some more information from them (maybe you have, and just didn't relate it here) before dropping them like a hot potato.
          The above image was just a fraction of the overall site. The problem is that they give me the "final product" and I can look at a single page and in less than a minute find 10 major discrepancies. Then they want me to make a list of what all needs fixed.

          If the site was extremely close and there were only a few small issues it would be acceptable for me to list what needs resolved. When the site is so far off that it will take me an hour to list all the problems then it becomes a huge problem.

          The programmer tells me all their clients do this. Am I out of line here? I find it hard to believe that someone who values their time would sit and make a list of 50 problems that should have been done right in the first place.

          Maybe a good analogy would be if you take your car to a detail shop. Some places would get the job done right in the first place and do an excellent job. Some would half ass it and you'd need to nit pick every little thing Maybe I'm asking too much from them and love to hear feedback from others on this.
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          • Profile picture of the author seopress
            Originally Posted by Letsurf View Post

            Maybe a good analogy would be if you take your car to a detail shop. Some places would get the job done right in the first place and do an excellent job. Some would half ass it and you'd need to nit pick every little thing Maybe I'm asking too much from them and love to hear feedback from others on this.
            You are not asking too much - unless you gave the psd to the programmer with instructions 'make it look close to this'.

            Look, I understand that coders have to deal with lots of imprecise instructions from their clients and that there are millions of ways to mis-communicate. I've just never heard of anyone giving a psd to someone as a 'rough guide' for the finished page.

            Go ahead, google 'psd to html'

            https://www.google.com/search?aq=0&o...&q=psd+to+html

            Show me ONE vendor on the first page of results that says they'll get it 'close' to the psd. That's silly, they ALL say they'll get it exactly right. That's the whole purpose of this service.

            It looks to me like your guy may have thought his 'version' was better than yours. IMO if that's what he thought he should have either:
            a - told you your psd needed improvement and suggested some design alternatives before starting work
            or
            b - done the conversion exactly and suggested some alternatives

            Instead he gave you something different with no explanation. Just an annoying waste of your time.

            Regards,
            Dave Seldon
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            • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
              Originally Posted by seopress View Post

              unless you gave the psd to the programmer with instructions 'make it look close to this'.
              nope, I don't pay my graphics lady $400 a home page so the programmer can make it look close
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    When I do custom development from PSDs, there is always an 'in-progress' stage where my clients understand that what they're seeing is the major implementation of the overall layout, with details to be added at the last.

    If your developer said "this is finished", that is one thing. But if you're looking at a work-in-progress, seeing something like this is perfectly normal.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Ayling
    There is no excuse for a programmer not using CSS correctly to get the spacing at least right. Looks like a rushed job to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author sarkar1990
    Not all developers are like that. Take me for an example, I develop "to the pixel" code.
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